


Rock-a-Bye-Baby

by Rona1776



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Update as of 10/20/17: Not abandoned just life in the way of writing, Updates Will Be Slow, also galra keith, but look another klance fic, its domestic klance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-31
Updated: 2017-06-27
Packaged: 2018-11-07 05:23:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 9,866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11052213
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rona1776/pseuds/Rona1776
Summary: On a patrol for the planet of Ospion Keith and Lance heard the cries in the woods of a forest. In a hollowed out tree they find an abandoned Galra baby. The two now have to figure out how to take care of an alien baby of the enemy race all with a disapproving Allura and Galra attacks.





	1. The Abandoned Child

**Author's Note:**

> Another Klance fic and I am so excited to post this one! I really enjoy the concept of domestic klance taking care of a child so here it is! Hope you enjoy! <3

The ground crunched underneath Keith and Lance’s feet as they patrolled their assigned area. The sound was very reminiscent of the crunching leaf’s back on earth but they both put that to the back of their head focusing on their mission. The planet they were on, which was named Ospion, had once been a colonized Galra residence before the natives decided to rebel and take back their planet. They won much to the surprise of some, but they had put out a distress call nonetheless to make sure it was completely safe. And so, Voltron had answered the call and all five paladins were securing large sections of where Galra settlements had been, making sure no one was still there.

“Ugh, how much more do we have to patrol?” Lance asked Keith who looked just as bored as he did at the moment.

“We’re not even half way done yet.” Keith answered looking at the radar they brought with them to help keep track of where they had been. They two men sighed annoyed. They had long put away their bayards too tired carrying them after so long. 

“I probably wouldn’t mind this so much if the Ospions helped us, ya know? I mean yeah, they did just fight off the Galra but to inspect the whole planet? Five people can’t do that by themselves.” Lance kicked at stray rock in his path watching as it hit a tree down the pathway. 

“Well we don’t exactly have a choice in the matter. We already asked them to help and they denied. We’ll just have to deal with it.” Keith answered, however, he was just as miffed. He didn’t want to patrol a whole planet for a race that was gone and was currently wreaking havoc in other parts in the universe.

Lance grumbled slouching as he walked which was slowing their already sluggish pace down even more. They were sure that the others were just as annoyed with the mission as they were. They knew that Pidge was the most annoyed out of them all. They had used the Galra tracker that was installed on the ship and reported to the natives that they were safe, but they didn’t want to trust any “strange foreign technology”. So, they were forced to suit up and track by foot while Allura and Coran tried to settle an alliance with the natives.

The two kept walking and entered a strange looking forest section. The ground and trees had changed shape and color, but it wasn’t the change of scenery that caught their attention, it was the sound of crying. Loud and desperate cries. Worried it might be one of the planet’s people they raced through the forest towards the sound. It lead to a clearing in the forest and they were able to track it to a single tree on the edge of the clearing. 

“That sounds like a baby. Who would leave a baby out in the forest like this?” Lance asked as he and Keith walked over to the tree where the sound was coming from and noticed it had been hastily hollowed out. Inside was a baby wrapped up in blanket crying out.

Lance bent down and picked it up worried it might be hurt. It didn’t stop crying but he pulled back the blanket to take a closer look at it. They were both surprised to see the distinct features of the Galra. It had fluffy ears although they were drooped downward, the bright yellow eyes, and the unmistakable purple coloring that all Galra possessed.

“It’s a Galra baby. What’s it doing out here?” Lance asked. The baby was still crying but it was a bit quieter now that it was being held instead of laying down in a tree. 

“Well the people here did throw a rebellion. Maybe the parents put it here hoping to come back for it later when it was safe. I’m just surprised it’s survived this long. It’s been a few days since we got their call and got here.” 

“Yeah me too. We can’t leave it here though. It’ll die. As much as I hate the Galra I don’t like the thought of a leaving a baby out here alone.” Lance was now trying to sooth the baby by lightly bouncing it in his arms.

“Lance, we can’t take it back with us if that’s what you’re thinking. No one on the ship knows how to take care of a baby let alone a Galra baby. Besides what would Allura say when you brought it back on the castle? She resented me for a long time for being Galra, I’m pretty sure she won’t let you keep their baby.” He crossed his arms looking down at the purple alien. It was jarring to see a baby of the one race that they had been trying to stop. While they had been fighting horrendous beats this baby was so small and gentle. It was the opposite of what he was used to seeing out of this race.

“It doesn’t matter. It’s a baby Keith! Maybe she’ll understand if we just explain it. We should tell the others though and head back. Patrolling this area can wait.” Holding the baby with one arm while his other hand had tapped a button on his helmet, getting hold of the other paladins. “Hey guys, you there?”

_“Lance, hey are you alright? What’s that crying I here?”_ It was Shiro.

“We’re fine, Shiro. The crying is actually what we wanted to talk to you about. Keith and I found this abandoned Galra baby while we were patrolling. We wanted to bring it back to the castle.”

_“A Galra baby?!”_ Now it was Pidge. _“Lance, you do realize that Allura isn’t going to allow you to keep it right? Besides do you know the first thing about taking care of a baby?”_

“I can’t just leave it to die, Pidge! Besides its not dangerous. It’s not like it’s going to call Zarkon and give him our position to attack us. And for your information, yes, I do. My family is huge I know a thing or two about babies.”

A sigh was heard and Lance knew it was Shiro. _“What does Keith think about it. I mean you both found it, it should be your guy’s decision.”_

Keith adjusted his footing staring at the baby who had finally calmed down to sniffles. “I’m just nervous about bringing it on board. We don’t have the resources and it I’m afraid it would hinder us.” The baby turned its head towards Keith, its yellow eyes staring into his purple ones and he felt a strong pull towards it. A powerful sense of protection surged through him at that moment. “But, at the same time I don’t really want to leave it to die either so… let’s bring it with us.”

Lance smiled at him and heard Shiro agree to let them take it and how it was their responsibilities. But instead all Keith could concentrate on was how his chest filled with warmth at Lance’s smile. He shook his head and coughed trying to rid of the feeling.

“Okay we’re on our way back then! See you guys back at the castle!” Lance turned off the comms and turned in the direction they had come from ready to get back to the comfort of the ship. Keith followed right beside him still staring at the baby who hadn’t taken their eyes off him. It wasn’t unnerving that it was looking at him, what was unnerving was the strong need to hold it. He wanted to take the baby out of Lance’s arm and hold it himself. But he didn’t know how to hold a baby! Besides Lance was much better with kids than he was.

Keith finally looked away from it which made it whine. They outstretched their tiny hands towards him making little grabbing sounds trying to get Keith’s attention again. It startled both paladins who looked down at the baby. Tears were starting to form again and neither of them wanted to hear it crying again. 

“You want to hold them? It seems like it wants you.” Lance suggested.

“I don’t know the first thing about holding a baby! Besides why would it want me?” As he said those words though the pull was getting stronger and he found himself moving closer to the baby.

“You just hold them. Cradle them in your arms, like that. You’ve had practice doing that before, right?” As Lance laid the baby in the other’s arms he walked away and Keith’s head snapped up.

Wait a minute. He remembered the moment! He was about to say something when Lance interrupted. 

“Come on, Mullet Head, I’d rather get there sooner than later!”

Keith sighed and jogged carefully to meet up with him while the warm feeling seeped back into his chest at the sound of contempt baby in his arms.

 

XXX

 

When Keith and Lance arrived, it didn’t take long for the others to return. Allura was able to convince the Ospion king to let them rest and continue their search tomorrow. It was a relief for them to hear they got to rest, but the two boys were worried about the princess’ reaction to what they found. Even though it was their decision to bring it back to the castle, it was Allura who had the final say. It was her ship after all so it was only fair. Which was why their fears were high at her decision.

So, when they were able to change out of their suits and back into their regular clothes they were trying to think of the best way to go about it. Should they stall it by dragging it out or just go straight in and let her know right away?

“Ugh, she is not going to take this well.” Keith said. He was still holding the baby as it refused to leave his arms for more than a second. 

“I won’t let her leave it here to die. That’s cruel even if it is a Galra child.” Lance argued. They were both standing outside the door to the dining area and everybody was waiting on them to enter so they could all eat. 

“I know, but we don’t have a choice if she says no. It’s her ship so it’s her final say.” Even at Keith’s own words it hurt to hear. He was still wary about the child, but the strong pull towards it was dulling out his other skeptical side of bringing a Galra baby on board. He didn’t even notice his arms were wound more securely around the baby until it grabbed his shirt bringing his attention down to it.

“So what? We’re supposed to just throw it back out of the castle and let it starve to death? Or let one of the planets people see it and kill it?” Lance was getting agitated, he obviously wanted to keep the baby safe from harm. He stared Keith down, his eyes daring him to argue against him.

Keith sighed. “I’m not saying that, I’m just letting you know what Allura might tell you.” Looking down at the child still it eyes were trained on him, yellow staring into purple. Keith tensed up making a decision. “Let’s just go in. We’ll deal with Allura if she tries to say anything.” Bringing his gaze back up to Lance he saw that the other approved, now it was a matter of actually doing it. 

Lance was the first to enter and Allura smiled, “Ah there you two are I was starting to get worri—“ Her words stopped as soon as Keith came in holding the child. Her gaze hardened as she looked at the child and then towards Keith. “What is the meaning of this? Why is there a Galra on my ship?” The air around the room had instantly become tense. All paladins and Coran looked worryingly at Allura and Keith. It was clear what she was thinking in that moment. 

Keith stood strong as ever his gaze never wavering from its hard scowl. It was clear he was intent on speaking his piece before she did.

“It’s a Galra baby Lance and I found while patrolling the planet. It was inside a hallowed out tree clearing trying to be protected from any danger. We brought it here not wanting it die.”

“It doesn’t matter where you found it, I don’t want it on my ship.” She said, her voice almost strained and obviously not happy with the situation.

“Why not? It’s not going to cause any harm.”

“Yeah! It’s just a baby, Allura. It’s not going to hurt us. It’s harmless.” Lance was now standing next to Keith trying to persuade her. The rest of the room was silent almost afraid of saying anything to upset them.

Allura’s gaze only hardened. Even with the recent help of their Blade of Marmora allies, Allura was still skeptical of the Galra, and it was clear that a baby was no exception to her. 

“I don’t care if it’s a baby, I don’t want any Galra on my ship!” She was standing her back straight and her words firm. Keith contained a wince at her words. Even after Allura’s apologies after finding out he was Galra there was still a little strain on a few things. He thought that she didn’t realize her words in that moment but it still hurt.

The baby rustled in his hold obviously uncomfortable with the high tension. The sounds of distress were obvious but Keith was reluctant to look away from Allura’s challenging stare. Luckily it was Shiro who noticed this and decided to step in. 

“Princess,” Shiro stood from his seat, “if I may. The baby is their responsibility. I suggest that if they are able to take care of it and it doesn’t cause a problem they should be able to keep it, if not then they do what you say and it won’t stay on the ship.”

Neither of them liked the option fully, but it was better than bickering and it was the most logical. So they both settled on it. Keith and Lance both took to their seats with their food and sat down. As they ate and fed the baby it was still a very tense and awkward dinner. Keith sighed knowing that the future was not going to be easy for them.

 

XXX

 

They ended up feeding the baby two big bowls of food goo and they were now sleeping peacefully. Keith himself was feeling tired himself with how long of a day it was. First patrolling such large parts of a planet, finding a child, and then an awkward dinner with the team, he was definitely feeling the effects of sleep take over.

Lance was with him in the common area, with him now holding the child. Keith’s arms had gotten tired holding them for so long so after their eyes closed and was asleep, Lance had taken over so Keith could have a break. Which was a good thing too, because his eyes had started dropping from tiredness and he didn’t want to accidentally drop the baby. Keith still didn’t understand what had come over him being so protective. Yes, of course he didn’t want a child to die even a Galra one, but it didn’t explain his sudden strong need to protect. He was never good with kids back on earth and never had the same reaction with them as he did with this one. So, he didn’t understand the sudden change of that. However, he was still far too tired to care to figure it out and left that headache for the morning.

“So what are we going to name ‘em?” Lance’s voice had interrupted his small brief period of silence.

“What? Name who?” His eyes were still closed hoping to gain a little sleep soon.

“Who else? The baby obviously. We can’t just call them the ‘baby’ or ‘it’, they have to have a name!” Even with him being energetic he still managed to keep his voice down as not to disturb the child in question nestled in his arms.

“Uh… well I don’t know. What names did you have in mind?” He cracked an eye open at his point looking over at Lance.

“Well a few actually however I don’t know if they’re a boy, girl, or if Galra even have genders.” He was looking at Keith almost asking for an answer. At this Keith realized he wasn’t going to get any sleep so he sat up with both eyes open.

“How should I know? Besides I’m not changing any diapers to find out.” He crossed his arms his face twisted in disgust at the thought of touching a dirty diaper. 

Lance scoffed sounding offended. “Ugh, rude, Keith. This is a team effort now which means you’re on diaper duty too.” He ignored the disgusted sound of protest and expression. “Well, until we find out, I think I’m going to call them Veronica. It’s my little sisters name and I think it fits perfectly.” He smiled down at, now named, Veronica and made sure she was still nestled safely in his arms.

When Keith looked at the two of them something inside his chest made him feel warm. The sight of Lance holding Veronica in his arm with a small smile warmed his chest and he couldn’t help but think that he liked the look. The look of Lance as he held their ch—

Keith shook his head before that thought finished his cheeks red and hot. Unfortunately, Lance noticed him and asked him what was wrong, which Keith replied with “nothing”.

“Dude, you’re red and he were just shaking your head like something was wrong. What’s up?”

“I said it was nothing.” He frowned with his usual scowl and that seemed to end the conversation as Lance sighed and got up from the couch.

“Whatever. I’m going to bed. I’m tired and I really want to get some sleep before Veronica wakes up in a few hours crying.” With that he left Keith alone in the room with a red face and a confused mind. 

It took him a few minutes to collect himself and stand up from the couch. Just like Lance he was very tired and in need of some serious sleep. He already knew that the morning was going to be difficult. When he reached his room, he kicked off his boots and barley managed to change for sleep before he landed face first into his bed. He sighed into the bed, the long rough day making the bed feel so much softer and comfortable than normal. He was easily swept into sleep as his eyes closed and let his body fully relax.

 

XXX

 

The morning had gone by quickly, but quietly as everyone but Lance arrived and ate their morning meal. It had been tense still between Keith and Allura over the Galra incident which they had taken to only interacting for Voltron purposes. It was well in the afternoon that Lance had shown up. Normally they would have woken him up much earlier but after the events last night they had let him sleep in. They all knew that he had gotten up a few times during the night to take care of the new addition to the castle. When Lance entered the common area, where the paladins were relaxing, he still looked tired and most likely skipped out on his morning face routine. He held a squirming Veronica in his arms who seemed well rested but uncomfortable. 

“Well, someone doesn’t look happy.” Shiro was looking at the squirming child with a sympathetic expression.

“She’s been like this ever since she woke up last night. I don’t know what the problem is.” Lance readjusted his hold as Veronica had disrupted it with her constant moving around.

“She looks uncomfortable. Maybe it’s the sudden change of environment?” Keith said as he was relaxed back against the couch. At the sound of his voice, however, Veronica had stopped her squirming for only a second only to start kicking and making irritated sounds. Lance in shock had to quickly readjust at the sudden change of action. 

“Woah! What the heck?!” Lance was now holding her up with her chest against his for a more stable hold. It didn’t seem to help any as she turned around her small hands reaching out towards Keith. 

“Looks like she wants you again.”

“What, why me?” He was stiff as Lance walked over to him fully ready to hand her over.

“I don’t know but if it gets her to calm down I’m all for giving her to you.” He placed her in Keith arms when he reached him and Veronica finally calmed down. Her face was scrunched up slightly but looked a lot calmer than a few seconds ago. She was no longer squirming or kicking and her hand had clutched onto a part of his shirt tightly. It was clear she was not leaving his arms anytime soon. 

Keith was still slightly stiff but the same feeling from yesterday of holding her was back and he actually felt a sense of relief as well. It was also nice to see Lance relax against the couch, and Keith felt a little guilty. He felt he should have taken Veronica last night, but then again, he wouldn’t have known what to do when she had woken up. 

“Why does she keep wanting me to hold her? It was like this yesterday, I don’t know anything about babies or kids. I don’t want to do something wrong.” His hold was stiff but Veronica didn’t seem to care. She had become more lax in his arms and her face was no longer scrunched up, however, she still had a vice grip on his shirt.

“It’s possible that she feels more comfortable around you because of your genes. I mean you are part Galra she may recognize that and feel safer with someone like her.” Shiro said. He was the first to know about his Galra heritage and the first to accept him. He was still careful about his words around Keith surrounding the subject even after multiple times telling him it was okay. Still he appreciated the gesture.

“I guess. I’m just not sure how to take care of a Galra baby. I mean they’re much different from earth babies as far as I can tell. I don’t know what they need.”

“Well why not ask Allura and Coran? I’m sure they’d be able to look some stuff up for you guys on their computer and get the right information.”

Keith cringed at the option. He was still on edge around her as was obvious by the tense morning. He could ask Coran but he was siding with the princess which made talking to him awkward as well. He was more understanding but it was still tense with him too. 

“Alright I guess I’ll go.” He stood up already bracing himself for the awkward encounter. “Hey Lance, do you want to come w---“ He stopped mid-sentence when he saw Lance passed out on the couch. His chest was a slow and steady rise and fall, his lashes rested gently on his cheeks, and Keith felt his cheeks warm and his heart race. _‘Okay time to leave!’_

He quickly left the room already knowing what would happen or what would have been said if he stayed. His heart finally dropped down to a normal pace as he reached the control room where Allura and Coran spent most of their time making sure everything was in order. He was still against seeing them this soon but he needed to know how to take care of Veronica correctly, so he braced himself and walked in. The automatic doors closed behind him and it caught the attention of both the Alteans in the room. Allura narrowed her eyes upon seeing both Keith and the baby and quickly turned her head away. Coran must have noticed she wouldn’t say anything and stepped in for her.

“Ah Keith, what can we do for you today?” He put on a brave face much like Keith had.

“Well, I was hoping you guys might had some information on how to take care of Veronica here. Human babies are a lot different from Galra ones I’m guessing so I don’t really know the process of taking care of one.” Before Coran could speak Allura lifted her head from what she was working on to look at Keith.

“Wait, Veronica. Who’s that?”

“It’s what we named the baby.” Keith looked down at said child who looked up at him. Allura made a sound that she heard him but was now no longer interested. The air became tense again and Veronica squirmed and cried out softly making Keith quickly rock her the best he could to make her feel better. Coran thankfully started talking again to clear the air.

“We do have some information on the ship about Galra and their home and lifestyle so there should be childcare there. It is 10,000 years old so I’m not sure how accurate some of the information is. However, I don’t think anything has changed too much in that aspect hopefully!” He smiled making Keith feel a little better than before. “Come on over up here and I’ll get the information for you.” Keith walked past Allura who was back to her previous task and stood next to Coran as he looked up information that Keith couldn’t read and started to scroll through getting the necessary information.

During this Veronica looked up and set her eyes on his mustache. She giggled and reached up only managed to hit it lightly with her hand, however it was enough to grab his attention. With new vigor, she reached up higher and managed to grab it which pulled Coran away completely from his task with a pained yelp. Keith moved in a way so the grab wasn’t hurting the other and managed to uncurl her fingers from his mustache.

“Ah sorry about that Coran.” Veronica was happily giggling pleased that managed to achieve her task.

“No, it’s alright. I’m sure she was just curious is all. She is quite cute though.” He smiled getting back to his task quickly finishing it up. “Here it is.” He picked up a tablet and handed it to Keith. “I transferred all the data you may find necessary and translated for you to read it your language.”

“Thanks Coran. This will help tremendously.” Keith smiled gratefully.

“Of course, anything you need I’ll be here to help.”

The paladin smiled and thanked him once again before leaving and started reading the new information on the tablet. Of course, it was a little hard because Veronica’s eyes were glued to the glowing screen and reached her tiny hands toward it wanting to play with it. He held out of her way but it was hard to hold her and the tablet at once.

“You’re going to keep being a nuisance, aren’t you?” He asked rhetorically. He had made it all the way back to the commons area before she finally, but reluctantly, stopped reaching towards the tablet. It was evident by her sniffles that she wasn’t happy, but he paid them no mind. 

As he sat down on the couch he noticed that he had sat down next to Lance who was still asleep. He was a little more slumped over than when he left with his neck bent at an awkward angle. Keith knew from experience that it would be sore when he woke up, so he sat down Veronica on the couch and gently tried to move him to a more comfortable position. He heard a snicker and looked up to see Pidge glancing at them over her computer.

“Having fun taking care of your boyfriend, Keith?” Keith blushed at her comment and glared.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” He tried to sound confident but it faltered. Pidge raised her brow at him skeptically.

“You have baby with him, you both named it together, and now you’re gently moving him around as he sleeps.” Keith grumbled at her comment clearly trying to pay her no mind. The blush was evident on his face which made her snicker more.

“Alright, Pidge, don’t tease him.” Shiro said, even though he had a bit of a smile as well.

In the meantime, Veronica had crawled over the small space onto Lance’s chest and just laid there. She seemed content there. However, the moment was ruined when a loud blaring sound came through the speakers. Lance shot up immediately waking him from his sleep. Since Keith was leaned over Lance they ended up bumping heads when he sat up causing them both to groan in pain.

_“Paladins!”_ Allura’s voice came through the speakers. _“The Galra are here and are trying to attack to the ship! Get to your lions now!”_

While the other three paladins in the room got up and ran to the hangers. Keith and Lance took a nervous look at Veronica who was now upset by the sudden loud noise. They knew they had the same thought of ‘what are we gonna do with her?’


	2. Baby Problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is so late.  
> Forgive me.

Keith and Lance rushed over with Veronica in Lance’s arms to the control room where the other five were standing. Allura and Coran were already setting up the particle barrier trying to minimize the damage of the ship. The small fighters were still shooting at them, their laser shots hardly doing any damage. However, the large commanding ship was still an issue, they knew it was a matter of time before it fired its ion cannon and took down the castles barrier. 

“Paladins, to your lions now! Take down that ship, we’ll cover you until then.” Allura spoke her mind clearly focused on firing at the smaller ships to give the paladins the space to pilot out and fight. Everyone rushed to their respected spots that would take them to their lions. Except Lance and Keith. They looked down at Veronica who was latched onto Lance’s shirt crying out in distress from the noise and chaos outside the ship.

“Wait, what are we gonna do with, Veronica. We can’t take her on one of the lions but I don’t want to leave her here. She’s already too scared.” Lance said as he held the baby in his arms tighter. Keith looked just as worried as Lance, but he kept staring at the ships obviously wanting to get out there to fight the Galra off.

“Lance you’re going to have to leave her here. I know you don’t want to hear that, but you have to. Come on.” Shiro urged. They were all anxious and Allura’s glare wasn’t helping either.

Lance winced but he knew he had to leave her. He was just hoping a different option would have come up. Walking over to a wall he sat Veronica away from where Coran and Allura were, trying to keep her as far away from the noise as possible. It hurt to pull away and see her watery yellow eyes blink up at him. Once he sat her down on the floor she let out a terrified and distressed cry that made everyone in the room look to her in surprised. It reminded both Lance and Keith of the cry they heard in the forest and it broke their hearts.

A bang and a harsh jerk of the ship brought them all back to reality. Allura quickly stabilized the ship before turning to all of them and yelling out, “Paladins, to your lions now!” They all quickly rushed to their lions leaving a distressed Veronica behind them.

Once outside in their lions they looked at the scene around them. They were quite a few of them but they realized that Voltron wouldn’t be necessary for this fleet thankfully. Unless the commander ship sent out more ships they would easily be able to take out the small fleet and the ship easily enough.

“Okay this should be over quick and easy.” Said Shiro. “Pidge, do you think you can take out that ion cannon with your vines? Make sure it doesn’t power up and damage the castle.”  
With a quick “can do” from Pidge he then spoke to Keith, Hunk and Lance.

“You two, I want you guys to take out the main power. Do that and that and they won’t be able to do anything else. Me and Lance will clear a path. Everyone got it?”

Everyone called out their affirmative and went to work. Pidge quickly flew to the main Galra ship and the shield on the back her lion transformed into her vine cannon. She quickly shot it at the ion cannon and the large vines grew out of the barrel and wrapped around it. The strength of the vines crushed it rendering it useless. With the strength of the vines and how thick they were, it would take the Galra a long while to fix it and get it working again. Through the comms they all heard the smile in her words as she said that it was done. She flew away and started taking out other fighter jets to continue helping out.

Shiro and Lance then set out a path to the power supply of the main ship. All Galra ships were made the same, and after a year of fighting the same style ships it became easy to pinpoint the weak spots.

A safe path was quickly cleared so Keith and Hunk flew through. To keep them covered, the other three kept shooting at the other fighters and Pidge was able to take a few shots for them with her shield to block them. It was Hunk with the strength of his lion to break through the ship’s hull, giving Keith a large opening to the main power. It was in clear sights and just as he was about to shoot to take out it out, he heard Hunk take a big surprise hit. When Keith looked back, it was just in time to see the larger lion coming closer and hitting him off his target. Keith let out a grunt at the hit. Looking up he saw that more fighters were surrounding them obviously trying to keep them distracted from damaging the ship more. Unfortunately, it worked for Keith, it would take too long for him to melt the power supply while taking laser fire. Red’s armor wasn’t strong enough to take that much constant damage.

“Looks like it’s not going to be that easy. Alright let’s make a new plan.” Shiro stated through the comms.

 

However, inside the castle Allura and Coran were fighting a battle of their own. Along with helping Voltron with their own attacks, Veronica had been non-stop crying and screaming since the team had left to fight. It was driving them both insane and giving them headaches. It was worse whenever she heard one of the paladins cry out or grunt through the comms. Her cries seemed to be more desperate.

“Ugh, can this child just be quiet for a moment?” Allura was exhausted from the constant noise.

Coran looked back at the child. Her eyes, though mainly yellow, had clear signs of red to suggest hard crying. Tears were running down her cheeks and tiny purple hands were pressed against her ears as to keep out noise from outside. She squirmed around obviously uncomfortable with the fighting. He was suddenly reminded of time long ago when he was forced to watch Alfor and the other paladins getting hurt with a crying and worried baby princess in the background. Taking one quick look back at the scene of the lions flying around and fighting, he left his control panel to rush over to Veronica.

“Coran what are you doing?! Get back to your control panel!” Allura was surprised to see Coran leave in the middle of a fight. However, she grew even more concerned when he reached Veronica. The small child was still crying hard but looked up at Coran. His facial features softened and he picked her up. Her crying continued but was lowered when he started to sooth her. The attention had made her feel better but only by a small amount.

“I’m sorry, princess.” He said as he walked back over to the control panel. “I was suddenly reminded of another young child who was worried for her guardian fighting tough battles with their enemies.” Coran was easily able to get back to the controls and work them even with a crying child in one arm. The words, even if they weren’t meant to cause harm, stung Allura when she heard them. She knew that she was worried for her father when he flew his lion and fought off their enemies with the other paladins.

Looking at her in Coran’s arms holding on tight to his shirt fabric with pinched eyes and frightened expression she felt a sense of pity and sadness wash over her. _‘It would make sense for her to be scared I suppose.’_ She thought as she looked out the window to the fight. Allura sighed with a shake of her head. “I can’t think about that right now. We have to beat this fleet.’

“I have to take out their main power! These things will keep coming and fighting if I don’t!” Keith called out. He was getting tired of fighting fighter after fighter and so was Red. They were both impatient and wanting to go back to the castle to rest.

“How are you going to do that with all these fighter jets? They keep blocking your path and will just shoot at you more if you get close to the ship.” Lance explained. He could see with them distracted, workers were now patching the hole in the ship. It wouldn’t take long to fix either.

“Keith, I have an idea.” It was Pidge. “Hunk has the strongest armor out of all of us and I have a shield on the back of my lion. If we could cover you until you took out the power then that would stop the jets.”

“But that would leave me and Shiro alone out here! And there’s too many here for only the two of us!”

“Not if we lure them to the ship. Every time one of us gets close, the jets start going for the breech and ignore the rest of us. If us three could lure them there then you two could take care of the ships around you without too much problem.” Keith explained.

“Well, it’s worth a shot. Lance and I can handle a few jets, but not for long. You’ll have to be quick Keith.”

“I know. I can get it done.” Determination was clear in his voice.

“Alright then. Come on Lance, let’s take these guys out. Hunk and Pidge just focus on keeping Keith safe and we’ll try to help as well from up here.”

With the confirmation from the team, they all flew into position. Keith weaved and moved through the ships easily making his way to breech. Just a small blast from his lion broke it open again and he could see the power supply. With his fire power he shot directly at it, and he could see the hot metal melting easily. Their main power was a large engine and he was hoping to get it over with quickly. He hated that Pidge and Hunk were covering him and taking the brunt of the hits, but he was grateful all the same. Keith knew he wouldn’t be able to do it without them.

“Keith, you almost done? My shield it about to go out!”

“Yeah my lions armor is weakening by the second!”

Keith looked worrying at the main power engine. It was almost out but the jets were still going. “I’m almost there! Hang on!” He heard the grunts from them as they tried to keep their lions intact.  
With one last final push from Red, he was able to finally able to get the main power to explode. In that instant, all the jets stopped along with their shots. They all cheered happy it was finally over. All that remained around them was now jet debris.

_“Great job, paladins, now if specifically Lance and Keith could take Veronica back I would be deeply appreciative.”_ Coran’s voice came through their comms along with a distressed Veronica.

With a gasp from both Lance and Keith they were first ones to shoot towards the castle and land in their hangers. After they left their lions they raced to the control room and almost ran into each other when they got there together. Keith was the first to enter and rush towards where Coran was cradling Veronica in his arms. When he was close he gently took her into his arms and when she looked up at him she quickly latched onto the black fabric of his flight suit. Her loud cries now stopped upon seeing both of them but the tears continued to fall. Keith lifted a hand to brush through her hair and a sense of parental protection came over him in that instant. With Lance next to him it all felt right.

“Wow, it looks like it was hard for her. Did you calm her down, Coran?” Lance asked. He was also trying to calm her tears by rubbing her back.

“Yes, I remembered another time when I had to take care of a baby during a battle. I couldn’t leave her unattended it didn’t feel right.”

“Well, thanks we really appreciate it. It looks like you helped a lot. We owe ya one!” Lance said. 

“Ah no need. Happy to help!” His smile was genuine as he looked at the two. “Now I suggest you both wash up, dinner will be served soon and the little one there is going to need a lot of attention.” They both nodded and left the room.

 

XXX

 

After they both washed up and had eaten they were back in the common room. They were the only ones in there and they noticed something. Whenever either of them got up from the couch to go get something or so much as moved away, Veronica would get unruly and throw a fit. They had her in the middle of them and she was content with the tablet that Keith had gotten until they moved away. She would tear her eyes away from the tablet to look at them worriedly and start a fit.

“I don’t get it. We aren’t in any danger and I can barely move without her starting something. I know babies want attention but this is ridiculous.” Lance was slumped against the couch. Right now Veronica was happily looking at the tablet playing with the glowing shapes on it, moving and throwing them around on the screen.

“I know it’s weird. Do you think it has something to do with the fight? Maybe she’s nervous it’ll happen again.”

“But there’s no alarm! And we aren’t panicking so there should be no reason to be nervous.” Lanced sighed. He wanted to get up and get a drink but earlier he barely made it past the couch before Veronica threw a big enough fit for him to come back. “Is there something in that tablet about Galra kids that would explain it. They act differently than earth babies so maybe it has something on there.”

“Well I could check, but it’s a bit preoccupied at the moment.” Keith looked down at Veronica who was completely memorized by the glow of the tablet. It would have been cute if they weren’t currently frustrated. Keith moved his arm and made a grab for the tablet making Veronica let out a sound of displeasure. She reached for it and again Keith had to move his arms higher to keep it out of reach. “Alright let’s see…” He scrolled through trying to find something or anything about what was happening. “I can’t find anything about… – wait.”

That caught Lances attention. “What is it?”

“This passage here. I think I know what it is, but… here just listen. ‘Shortly after birth Galra children need special and lots of attention. If abandoned during the first week of birth, the child will scream for its parents until they return to it or a different pair adopts it. The baby will now need constant attention as to reassure it will not be abandoned again.’ I think this is why she was so distressed when we left to fight. It probably reminded her of her parents leaving her in that tree and now she wants to make sure we don’t do the same. We need to be with her constantly now to reassure her.”

“Wow that’s really sad. If they knew this then why did her parents leave? If they can’t abandon their children wouldn’t it be safer to take her with them?”

“Lance do you remember the planet we were on? There wasn’t a trace of the Galra and all the houses we saw looked like they were ransacked and destroyed. Her parents probably thought they were going to get killed and hid her to keep her safe. To them, abandoning her and her potentially living despite their own fate was worth it.” Keith was staring back down at the passage trying to read through more of it.

“Yeah I guess so. It’s still sad though. Man, I am really starting to hate the Ospions right now. I mean I know the Galra are bad but would they really kill a child of a family? It just seems a bit harsh is all. Besides not all Galra are bad, if they were just living peacefully beside them there was no reason to attack them.”

“I don’t know. All I do know is that after Allura and Coran finish their diplomatic meeting with the king tomorrow we are gone.” The tablet was now returned to Veronica and she happily squealed and started playing with it again with a big smile. 

“Finally! I am so done with this planet. The only good thing that came out of this was Veronica here. If we hadn’t found her I would’ve suggested leaving a lot sooner.” Lance stretched his arms up and over his head with a yawn. “Well, I don’t know about you, but after today I am beat. I’m gonna hit the hay.” He barely stood up before Veronica let out a wail and with a groan he was forced to sit back down again.

“What are we going to do about her? We need to sleep but she won’t let either of us out her sight.”

“I don’t know, but I’m not staying in here all night. At least bring her along to the rooms and we’ll figure it out on the way.” Lance got up along with Keith and they made their way to the other side of the ship where the bedrooms were at. They all had their assigned rooms for the purpose of keeping order and easy access to their lions, but they were free to switch rooms if any issue occurred. So, on the way they had tried to come up with different options, one of which consisted of waiting until she was asleep and then go into their own rooms, but they were too tired to wait for her to fall asleep. Once they had reached their rooms they had yet to come up with an option to how they were going to sleep that night.

By now Keith had switched holding Veronica to Lance and they were standing outside Lance’s room. They had both thought of sleeping in the same room, but neither of them had the courage to bring the option up. Keith looked up at Lance building up the courage the more that time had passed. He didn’t mind staying the same room with Lance, he had thought about it before but there was no reason to bring it up. Now here was his chance, but he was still nervous. What if Lance was repulsed and refused to share a room even for the sake of Veronica’s and their sleep? It was thoughts like that, that made him back down. However, he wanted to ask and take the question off his shoulders. So with a huge breath he steeled himself and –

“Paladins!” It was Coran. He was walking down the halls, no doubt checking around the castle for anything to fix. “What are you two still doing up? I’d figure after today you two would be asleep by now.”

“Well we wanted to but Veronica is really causing a problem for that. She won’t let either of us leave her for even a second, and we can’t go to our own room because she’ll throw a fit.” Lance readjusted his hold on said child when she squirmed trying to look back at Coran.

“Hmm, well have you thought of just sharing a room? We have rooms with a bed fit for two people so it wouldn’t be a problem for you to switch rooms. It would make sense since it seems you two now need to be together more.” At the mention Keith’s cheeks felt hot and practically heard the blood rush to his ears. It was what he was going to suggest anyway, but thinking about it and actually hearing it out loud was a different story. However, Keith didn’t really get much time to form an answer because Lance had already freaked out enough for Keith to know how he felt about the arrangement.

“W-Wait share a room with Keith?! You’re not--- I mean there’s another option right? I mean I don’t want to share a bed or anything.” He laughed nervously but Keith already knew his answer. He wouldn’t admit it but in that second of refusal, he swore he felt a sharp stab of pain in heart as if it had been torn.

“We don’t have a choice do we? We’ll just have to deal with it. Coran can you show us the room?” His voice was rough and almost snappish. Lance and Coran had both looked at Keith almost in a shock as he had not been that hostile moments before. With a curt nod from Coran he led them further down the hall. Lance took this moment to take a glance at Keith and noticed how his whole demeanor had changed. In the past two days when they’ve had Veronica he seemed almost softer and his grouchy attitude was gone. Now it was back. The slouch in his shoulder, the grumpy expression in his face, and the crossed arms. Lance looked away and knew that he was probably the cause.

Once they reached the room, Coran programed the controls on the door for them to enter. They both thanked him and walked inside. The first thing was Lance noticed was Keith immediately took some extra blankets that were folded at the end of the bed and laid them on the floor.

“Uh, Keith what are you doing?” Lance walked over to what looked like a makeshift bed. If that was the case it didn’t look very comfortable and he really didn’t want Keith to sleep on the cold floor. He would feel terrible.

“What does it look like? I’m making myself something to sleep on since you clearly stated that sleeping in the same bed was out of the question.” His voice held a slight venom to it but Lance paid it no mind. 

“Keith, you don’t have to do that. Look let’s just go to sleep, you don’t have to use the floor.” By now the bed was made and Keith had pulled a pillow from the bed. When he stripped his boots, jacket, and dagger sheath off it was clear he wasn’t going to listen to lance.

“Look as long as Veronica doesn’t wail during the night and we get some sleep I don’t care. Besides I’m used to sleeping on the floor.” The last part was said so quietly that Lance almost didn’t hear it. He got down on the floor and pulled back the top layer of blankets and slipped in. 

“Keith, buddy, come on, don’t—“

“Goodnight Lance.” He cut him off and Lance just sighed. He made his way to the bed and only put Veronica down to pull his shoes and jacket off. Normally he would change into his night clothes, but he didn’t want Veronica to scream out so he would have to sleep in his clothes from that day. It was only after he held her in his arms that he felt a little more peace and was able to drift off into a relatively peaceful sleep.

 

XXX

 

They were both woken up by the sound of crying. At first, they tried to ignore it but then it became louder and they knew they wouldn’t be able to sleep like this. Lance groaned and rolled over flopping a pillow over his head to block out the noise.

“Why? Why does she have to wake up in the middle of the night?” Lance’s voice was dulled by the pillow which was doing very little to block out the noise.  
“Just let me take her. She’s probably hungry or something.” Lance heard Keith rustle out of his position on the floor. He moved the pillow away and looked up in time to see Keith sitting up with a wince. He knew that the floor was uncomfortable.

“I can take her if you want. I know you want to sleep so…”

“It’s fine Lance, just go back to sleep.” He walked over to where Lance was laying on the bed and leaned down to take a crying Veronica into his arms. Lance could see the bags under his eyes and wanted to try again to take her instead, but at his second attempt Keith just cut him off and walked out the door. As the sound of crying floated down the hall he fell back onto the bed with a slight bounce and looked up at the ceiling. He was tired but he wanted to correct things with Keith or at apologize for what he said. He’ll admit that maybe his choice of words weren’t the best, so he wanted to fix it. Besides he hated seeing Keith sleep on the floor like that. He just hoped that he didn’t fall asleep before then.

Luckily it didn’t take too long for Keith to return. When he walked through the door Veronica was fast asleep in his arms. Now was his chance. Lance sat up quickly and rubbed the sleep out his eyes.

“Here, she was just hungry so luckily nothing too bad.” Keith laid her down gently next to Lance and was heading to his makeshift bed when Lance stopped him.

“Keith wait!” Thankfully he stopped but he didn’t turn around. “Um, okay, about what I said earlier, I may have something that I shouldn’t have.”

“You didn’t say anything wrong. Let’s just go slee—“

“No! I did say something. Listen, I didn’t mean to make it sound like I didn’t want to share a room or bed with you because I mean I thought about it but I was too nervous to say anything. I didn’t expect Coran to come up and offer and when he did I got nervous and started saying stuff I didn’t mean and I regret what I said because it hurt you which is the last thing I want to do and now you’re sleeping on the floor.” Lance continued his rambling. He was talking faster obviously getting more anxious and Keith was just standing there with his back still turned to him.

“Lance.” Keith said effectively cutting him off. He walked over to his “bed” where Lance was worried that he made things worse, but when Keith just grabbed his pillow and turned around he was happy to be wrong. He also noticed that Keith had a very bright blush on his face. It was hard to tell in the dark lighting but he was almost positive that it reached his ears.

Keith walked over to the bed and laid his pillow down next to lance’s. He was careful to sit down as to not disturb Veronica who was fast sleep in the middle of the bed. His movements were slow and uncertain though as if Lance would change his mind. But once he was fully seated in the bed he was still as a statue and Lance could clearly see the blush that covered Keith’s face and his ears. He found it cute and smiled at how shy Keith was acting. His angry demeanor was gone and now replaced by the one that he had developed over the past few days. The softness of his face was coming back, the stiffness of his body was slowly fading away, and he already seemed calmer if not nervous at his current position.

“Heh, well uhm, I guess it time to go to sleep so uhm… goodnight.” Lance said as he laid down waiting for Keith to do the same.

“Oh, uhm yeah.” Keith did the same with jerky movements and quickly closed his eyes wanting to get to sleep fast. When they were closed Lance took this time to look at Keith. He couldn’t really explain it, but the last few days, Lance had felt different around Keith. His heart skipped a bit when he was near, the strong want to put his arm around him, the need to be close with Veronica and Keith at once. He knew what it was, and he wanted and hoped Keith felt the same. Of course he noticed the blushes here and there, but he also knew that Keith liked his space and was probably just overwhelmed. He was also worried that all this time Keith was spending with him was just for the sake of Veronica. If Lance confessed and a Keith didn’t feel the same and was only there for her, then he would ruin the whole dynamic they had established and make everything worse.

Lance rubbed at his eyes frustrated with himself. He hated the feeling of being useless or not knowing what to do. Usually it didn’t bother him if he was rejected, but the thought of having to be on the same ship with someone you had feelings for and then having to face them every day and knowing they don’t like you back, it was a lot for him. He liked Keith, he would fully admit it, and it was making him a mess.

_‘Stupid Keith and his stupid cute face. I hate this.’_ He thought. With a silent groan he closed his eyes. Maybe a nights rest would ease his mind and make everything a little clearer in the morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really wanted to get this chapter out sooner, but life hit me hard so I was unable to to get it done when I had originally planned.  
> I had to help my dad fix basically the entire house because we had family unexpectedly coming over, and I hardly had any time for myself to enjoy let alone time to write.  
> But I will try to get the last chapter out soon! I actually was able to get about 1,000 words into the next chapter so I have a head start!
> 
> Also I know there are mistakes and I'll fix all of them once the whole story is finished!

**Author's Note:**

> Yee galra attacks. Now what are they gonna do?  
> Updates will be slow because I am very busy, but I will update when I can!


End file.
